10 Facts About Amelia Earhart

1. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. (In a plane. Because for some people you gotta really spell things out.)

2. She was a big promoter of both women’s abilities and commercial aviation.

3. A female pilot, as Ms. Earhart clearly was, can also be called an aviatrix. This has nothing to do with wearing feathers and carrying a whip. No matter what I may have written in my college paper on the subject. After my seventh beer.

4. Ms. Earhart is best known today for having mysteriously disappeared during an attempt to circle the globe. This point (and ultimately Ms. Earhart herself) figured prominently in an off-Broadway musical of the 1980s called Song of Singapore.

5. People have come up with dozens of explanations for her disappearance. For example, some people claimed that she disappeared so that she could surreptitiously spy on Japan for the FDR administration. (Hey, they made a whole movie, Flight for Freedom, around this premise. Though they changed the names.)

6. Another theory claims that she assumed a new identity, married someone new, moved to New Jersey and became a banker. What, were divorce laws really so much tougher then?

7. The U.S. named and launched the S.S. Amelia Earhart in her honor in 1942. Unfortunately, it was wrecked in 1948.

8. In 1931, she cbecame the first woman to fly an autogyro. (Now, THAT takes guts!)

9. Indianapolis Airport has a mural featuring pioneers who made a mark on Indiana’s transportation. Ms. Earhart is included, along with Lewis & Clark, Native Americans, African-Americans, and others. (Kind of makes you wish you had a reason to go through Indianapolis, doesn’t it?)

10. “Flying may not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” – Amelia said that. Who am I to argue?